Scottish Executive

Adult Literacy

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve standards of adult literacy.

Ms Wendy Alexander: I published the Adult Literacy Team’s report in July. It provides a comprehensive strategy for raising levels of adult literacy and numeracy in Scotland.

  Funding of £22.5 million between now and 2004 will enable an initial 80,000 people to be helped.

  £18.5 million of this is being allocated through local authorities to Community Learning Strategy Partnerships where all providers can access the funding. The remainder will be used to establish a national "Development Engine" or centre of excellence, eight pathfinder projects and a national training programme.

Education

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are currently excluded from school in each local authority area.

Nicol Stephen: The most recent figures for exclusions from school were published by the Scottish Executive on 15 February 2001, and cover the academic year 1999-2000. Copies of the News Release Exclusions from Schools, 1999/2000 are available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 11531).

Education

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what international comparative studies of educational attainment Scotland is currently participating in.

Nicol Stephen: Scotland participated in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment in 2000, which assessed the reading, mathematics and science attainment of 15-year-olds. The results will be published on 4 December 2001. We have agreed to participate in the second phase of PISA in 2003. It reports in late 2004. We are also participating in the Progress in Reading Literacy Study, run by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Attainment, which assessed the reading attainment of nine-year-olds in 2001. It will report late in 2002. We have decided to participate in the IEA Trends in Mathematics and Science Study which will take place in 2003 and will report in late 2004.

Enterprise

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the letter to me from the Minister of State for Employment Relations and the Regions, of 16 November 2001 copied to the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government to request that part of the £17 million grant to be recovered from Viasystems as a result of the closure of its north Tyneside plant be used for investment in the manufacturing industry in the Scottish Borders.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Questions relating to the recovery of grant paid towards the Viasystems facility in the North East of England are entirely a matter for DTI. Manufacturing projects in the Borders area can be supported from the Executive’s own budget through schemes such as Regional Selective Assistance and Invest for Growth.

Lifelong Learning

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what lifelong learning opportunities are available for those who wish to pursue a career in the Merchant Navy.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Learndirect scotland, the Scottish Executive’s flagship lifelong learning initiative can help people to gain the skills they need to pursue the career of their choice. Advisors on the freephone helpline can help people to identify their learning needs, and guide them towards the course and learning method that best suits them.

  Prospective learners can also visit the learndirect scotland website or visit a learndirect scotland learning centre. Whichever service learners select, they will have access to a database of over 70,000 learning opportunities.

Post Offices

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the £3.5 million funding for development of services in Post Offices has been allocated and spent.

Ross Finnie: The Executive received a funding consequential of £3.5 million as a result of money being allocated in England for the support of pilots of Government General Practitioners and Internet Learning and Access Points. All funding consequentials contribute to a block allocation to the Executive which was part of the Strategic Spending Review. The outcome of this process was that specific funding was not allocated for support of the Post Office network in Scotland, which is a reserved matter.

  The Executive is keeping in touch with the pilots in England and is keen to learn the lessons from these pilots and their likely impact in Scotland.

Post Offices

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to roll out Government General Practitioner and Internet Learning Access Points pilot projects in rural post offices as recommended in R5.12 of the report by the Scottish National Rural Partnership, Services in Rural Scotland .

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive aims to provide information to the public through a broad range of media and is monitoring closely the development of the Post Office led Government General Practitioner (now known as Your Guide) project which is at pilot stage. Officials have visited the pilot to see the project first hand. No decision has yet been taken, but a further meeting with the Post Office and DTI will take place later this year to discuss the potential for rolling out this project in Scotland.

  There are already 700 Public Internet Access Points in Scotland. The New Year will see the launch of the Executive’s Public Internet Access Point Initiative which aims to create over 1,000 new access points in areas of Scotland where internet provision is currently poor.

  The Executive is also supporting, through the Modernising Government Fund, a separate trial of public information points using kiosks with touch screen technology. This trial is based on simple to read information and contact details supplied by StartHere and Dumfries and Galloway Council and kiosks will be housed in a number of urban and rural locations across the council’s area.

Public Appointments

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a press release was issued announcing the appointment of Esther Roberton as Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council; to which media outlets any such press release was sent, and when any such press release was placed on the Executive’s website.

Ms Wendy Alexander: A press release was issued announcing the appointment of Ms Roberton on the morning of Friday 16 November.

  All media outlets were contacted. Simultaneously, a copy was dispatched to be placed on the Scottish Executive’s website. Due to a fault with the system there was a delay before the press release could be placed on the website.

Public Appointments

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when and where the position of interim Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council was advertised.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The position was not advertised. The previous Chair tendered his resignation on health grounds with effect from the end of May 2001.

  In such circumstances guidance allows for an appointment to be made from within the existing members of the council.

Public Appointments

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a selection process for the position of interim Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council took place.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Both vice-chairs, unofficial appointments which had been made by the council itself from among the members, were interviewed for the interim position.

Public Appointments

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the appointment of Esther Roberton as interim Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council was approved by ministers.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Yes. By both myself and the First Minister.

Public Appointments

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when and where the position of Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council was advertised.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Adverts were placed in The Scotsman , The Herald , The Financial Times  and Times Educational Supplement and appeared on 6 July 2001. A copy of the advert was also placed on the Scottish Executive’s website.

Public Appointments

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a selection process for the position of Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council took place.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Yes, in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments guidelines.

Public Appointments

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what date Esther Roberton was appointed as Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council.

Ms Wendy Alexander: She was appointed Chair with effect from 1 November 2001.

Public Appointments

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the appointment of Esther Roberton as Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council required ministerial approval.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Yes.

Public Appointments

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the announcement of Esther Roberton’s appointment as Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council was made.

Ms Wendy Alexander: 16 November 2001.

Special Educational Needs

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of primary and secondary pupils are currently recognised as having special educational needs.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is provided in the following table.

  Number of Pupils in Schools in Scotland with Special Educational Needs

  


 


Primary 
  

Secondary 
  

Special 
  



Total 
  

SEN 
  

% 
  

Total 
  

SEN 
  

% 
  

Total 
  



Publicly Funded 
  

425,221 
  

15,732 
  

3.7 
  

317,704 
  

15,160 
  

4.8 
  

8,302 
  



Independent 
  

11,559 
  

258 
  

2.2 
  

17,537 
  

246 
  

1.4 
  

1,096 
  



Publicly Funded + Independent 
  

436,780 
  

15,990 
  

3.7 
  

335,241 
  

15,406 
  

4.6 
  

9,398 
  



  Source: SEED School Census, September 2000.

  Note: All pupils in special schools have special educational needs but they are not attributed to primary or secondary year groups. It is, therefore, not possible to provide a percentage breakdown of these figures as requested.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any alternatives to mainstream schooling for pupils with special educational needs.

Nicol Stephen: There is a broad range of provision for pupils with special educational needs. This includes local authority mainstream and special schools, special units attached to mainstream schools, independent special schools and grant-aided special schools. Some children may have split placements in mainstream and specialist provision.

Teachers

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any consultation has taken place or is planned to take place on proposed changes to the starting salary for mature graduates beginning a new teaching career.

Nicol Stephen: The decision on whether or not to accept the proposed changes to pay for probationer teachers is one for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). The SNCT consists of representatives from the Scottish Executive, local authorities and teachers organisations. Scottish ministers will ensure that there is full consultation with our partners on the SNCT and will also consider all representations made to us.

Teachers

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent in 2001 on advertising costs to attract mature students to undertake teacher training courses.

Nicol Stephen: The recent Teacher Recruitment Advertising Campaign has the twin objectives of improving the public perception of teaching as a worthwhile and rewarding career, and increasing the numbers of talented people entering the teaching profession.

  Neither this campaign, nor any of the Executives teacher recruitment activity, is specifically aimed at attracting mature entrants to the profession. There have been no costs associated solely with attracting mature students. The overall cost of the Teacher Recruitment Advertising Campaign is £1.56 million over the two years.

  It should be noted that 70% of callers responding to the recent adverts and requesting further information on teaching and entry requirements were in the 25 to 44 age group.

Teachers

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether full and inclusive consultation will take place between all parties, including students in training, on proposed changes to teachers’ pay scales as they apply to probationary and recently qualified staff.

Nicol Stephen: The decision on whether or not to accept the proposed changes to pay for probationer teachers is one for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers. This body includes the Scottish Executive, local authorities and teachers organisations, and we have been consulting closely with them.

  We have received a number of presentations from concerned students and others on this issue. We have also received a letter from the Deans of the Faculties of Education, and have been in dialogue with the National Union of Students.

  We are convinced that the improvements we are implementing through the agreement are of significant benefit to probationer teachers and the profession, both now and in the long-term. However, we are aware of the concerns raised by those mature students studying now, and in particular that they have budgeted for their training under certain expectations and assumptions. With our partners in COSLA and the teacher organisations we will give the issues they have raised our full consideration.

Teachers

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a commitment that any changes to teachers’ pay scales as they apply to probationary and recently qualified staff will not disadvantage those already in Post-Graduate Certificate of Education training.

Nicol Stephen: Teachers pay and conditions are agreed through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). The Scottish Executive, COSLA and the teacher organisations are all represented on the SNCT and all parties all contribute to collaborative decisions. The proposal for a single entry point for all probationer teachers for the period of their training year has come from a working group of the SNCT. Since the full SNCT have not yet considered this proposal no final decision has been taken. The full SNCT will consider the proposal at its next meeting in December.

  The Scottish Executive are convinced that the improvements being implemented through the agreement A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century are of significant benefit to probationer teachers and the profession, both now and in the long-term. However, we are aware of the concerns raised by those mature students studying now, and in particular that they have budgeted for their training under certain expectations and assumptions. With our partners in COSLA and the teacher organisations we will give the issues they have raised our full consideration.

Teachers

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether introduction of a uniform salary for all probationers will impact on the current teacher recruitment campaign.

Nicol Stephen: The recent Teacher Recruitment Advertising Campaign has the twin objectives of improving the public perception of teaching as a worthwhile and rewarding career, and increasing the numbers of talented people entering the teaching profession.

  The success of the campaign in meeting its objectives will be judged firstly by monitoring the numbers of applicants for the 2002-03 academic session and secondly by checking changes in public perception reported through the System 3 survey later this month.

  The final decision on the introduction of a single entry point for all probationary teachers is one for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). The SNCT will consider this proposal at their next meeting in December.

Waste Management

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any unallocated finance from the Strategic Waste Fund has been included in year-end flexibility figures for each of the financial years (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01 and is anticipated to be included in 2001-02.

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of any unallocated year-end finance carried forward in the Strategic Waste Fund in each of the financial years (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01 and anticipated to be carried forward in 2001-02.

Ross Finnie: The Strategic Waste Fund was established in November 2000 for the implementation of the National Waste Strategy. There was no unallocated provision in 2000-01. Decisions on any unallocated provision in the current financial year will be made in due course.

Young Offenders

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when an announcement will be made with regard to a replacement block at Polmont Young Offenders Institution, as identified in the Visiting Committee of Polmont Young Offenders Institution Annual Report 1 April 2000-31 March 2001 .

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  On 15 October 2001 the Scottish Prison Service announced that a contract to build a new houseblock at HM Young Offenders Institution, Polmont, at a cost of around £17 million had been awarded to Skanska Construction UK Ltd.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Information Technology

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what the current maximum number of remote access users is that may be connected to the Parliament’s IT network at any one time.

Sir David Steel: In the answers to this question, S1W-20145 and S1W-20146, remote access is taken to encompass all forms of secure dial-in to the Parliament’s IT network.

  The Parliament's network is currently configured to allow a maximum of 58 remote access users to connect at the same time. Since May of this year the highest number of concurrent users on the system has been 20. IT Services keep the use and performance of the secure access systems under review to ensure sufficient capacity is available to meet requirements.

Information Technology

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how many calls and complaints have been logged to the Parliament’s IT Helpdesk concerning any failures of the remote access service since 1 January 2001.

Sir David Steel: Remote access difficulties which were caused by technical problems at the Parliament accounted for around 1.5% of all calls to the IT Helpdesk in the period 1 January 2001 to 23 November 2001. Of the 145 such calls, the main problems were: faulty remote access security tokens, faulty 0845 dial-in, server downtime (where several calls by users all related to the same incidents).

Information Technology

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what steps will be taken to ensure a reliable and enhanced service for remote access users of the Parliament’s IT network.

Sir David Steel: Currently there are some 400 users enabled to connect to the Parliament’s network remotely. A number of constituency and local offices successfully use this service regularly. As part of on-going service enhancement, an end to end review of the remote access service has been initiated.

  Phase 1, aimed at identifying improvements that can be made from the Parliament site is complete and the recommendations are currently being implemented. Phase 2 concerns the suitability of external telecomm equipment and services currently used to access the Parliament’s network remotely, this study is in progress following on-site inspection of some constituency offices and recommendations are in preparation. Phase 3 will concern the provision of user guidance and training to assist remote users in utilising the service to best advantage.